Kennesaw Mountain Nature Preschool

Looking for enriching activities for your kids? We’ve got your spring plans covered at the Gardens in April!

🌎Little Sprouts | 📅April 4 & 7, 9:15 – 9:45 AM
Celebrate Earth Day with us in the Gardens! Pre-registration required.

🎨Art in the Garden for Kids | 📅April 4, 11 AM - 12 PM
We will gather items from the Garden to create a beautiful picture frames inspired by nature. Pre-registration required.

🌸Spring Break Garden Adventures | 📅April 7-10, 9 AM - 2 PM
Daily hands-on activities & take-home crafts at the Carriage House that match the day’s theme!
Included with Garden Admission

🪴Spring Break Workshop | 📅April 8, 10 - 11 AM
Did you ever wonder how to build a fairy garden or terrarium? We will help you build your own ecosystem with everything you need! Take it home and watch it grow. Pre-registration required.

🌿Caregiver & Toddler Time | 📅April 18, 10:30 - 11 AM
In this session we focus on moving our bodies and learn the benefits of having safe environments for our children to explore and build their brains. Pre-registration required.

Learn more and register today at https://smithgilbertgardens.com/events/month/2026-04/

ACTION ALERT: Call your Georgia State Senator today! Senate Bill 240 that proposes the state flower be changed to the native Sweetbay Magnolia and designates April as Native Plant Month will be voted on by the state senate this Tuesday. For "How to Contact Your Legislator" see this helpful resource: https://vist.ly/4t695

The positive momentum is thanks to bill sponsors Senator Rick Williams and co-sponsors Senators Matt Brass, Bill Cowsert, Randy Robertson, and Max Burns. Reach out to your state senator today to encourage them to support a native state flower!

Something odd... maybe?

It's Feb 2 and I have yet to receive a single order for valentines from my online store (shop.getthekidsoutside.com). (This is a big change from last year.)

It's possible that there's simply no interest (I respect that), but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a problem.

(This is a small but very important source of revenue for this one-woman blog.)

Has anyone here tried to place an order and been unsuccessful?

Thanks for any insight!

The Passion Flower is our school logo and grows on our private land. This native plant provides the Host for the Fritillary butterflies to lay eggs so our students are able to observe the butterflies naturally go through the stages of metamorphosis during the Fall as they lay eggs, hatch, eat, grow, shed skin, go into a chrysalis and then emerge into new butterflies ! A wonderful experience to see up close and in mass ! 🧡

Purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is the more well-known species in Georgia. Large, showy, exotic purple flowers can be found on roadsides throughout the state, no doubt startling people that see it for the first time. It has large, glossy leaves with 3 lobes and the large fruit pods are quite noticeable. Known by folks throughout the South as “maypops,” these fruits have been lobbed and smashed by kids as long as there have been kids!

Passiflora is the host plant for both the Gulf and Variegated fritillary butterflies as well as a source of nectar for native bees and other insects. Look for the orange caterpillars with soft black spikes munching away on the leaves. It is also a host plant for Heliconius charithonia, the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, in the southern part of the state.